Minister Nazri Aziz says security arrangements in Sabah east coast "unsatisfactory”.
KOTA KINABALU: Is Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz’s candid remark on last Wednesday’s kidnapping an indication of an imminent review of the security policy or is there a surfacing rift at the top over Sabah?
Is this the reason why Chief Minister Musa Aman declined to reveal what the state government planned to do to secure the Sabah maritime borders when assuring island operators?
All Musa said yesterday was that no island resort will be closed in response to Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar’s incredulous remark that police and military could not assure customers of their safety and that island resort operators should cease operations.
Balking at Wan Junaidi’s statement, Nazri criticised the Home Ministry’s security arrangements in Sabah.
The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), was set up in April following the Sulu incursion, is under the Home Ministry.
Nazri today told reporters that Sabah’s security was “unsatisfactory”.
“This is not the first time this has happened. The arrangements in place should have ensured it did not happen.
“If we want tourists to come here, we must ensure that they feel safe and security has to be at the best.
“There should be no excuse. Security has to be improved,” he said adding that in view of the latest kidnapping, it is obvious that security arrangements in Singamata Island, barely five minutes off Semporna was not up to mark.
Nazri’s remarks flayed the defensive stand taken by his cabinet colleagues Shahidan Kassim and Wan Junaidi.
BN MPs castigate Putrajaya
Shahidan told parliament yesterday that Esscom carried out regular patrols on the Sabah seas and that last Wednesday, the Maritime Enforcement Agency personnel had visited the Singamata Reef Resort three hours before the kidnapping incident.
Despite the reality of this being a second incident since Esscom was established, Shahidan argued that Esscom had managed to defend the 1,400km of coastline from Kudat toTawau.
His remarks come on the heel of Sabah opposition and BN MPs who castigated Putrajaya over the lax security arrangements despite RM millions being spent since April last year.
Although Sabah BN MPs, except Kalabakan’s Abdul Ghaful Salleh, were less harsh on Esscom and the federal government, they nonetheless shared equal concern over Sabah’s security and demanded immediate action.
BN backbenchers Wilfred Tangau (BN-Tuaran), Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) and Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said Esscom should not be written off and instead called for the organisation to be given more assets and greater powers.
They also called for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to take direct command of Esscom as he had “all the powers under the Malaysian sky” to give orders.
MPs from both sides also called for the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the illegal migrants in Sabah to be released immediately.
The disclosure of the RCI finding has been postponed so many times since even before the 13th general election last May, they said.
“Now the minister tells me that it could be released in May, but only maybe,” said Sandakan MP Stephen Wong, who moved the motion to debate security lax in Sabah.
Is this the reason why Chief Minister Musa Aman declined to reveal what the state government planned to do to secure the Sabah maritime borders when assuring island operators?
All Musa said yesterday was that no island resort will be closed in response to Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar’s incredulous remark that police and military could not assure customers of their safety and that island resort operators should cease operations.
Balking at Wan Junaidi’s statement, Nazri criticised the Home Ministry’s security arrangements in Sabah.
The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom), was set up in April following the Sulu incursion, is under the Home Ministry.
Nazri today told reporters that Sabah’s security was “unsatisfactory”.
“This is not the first time this has happened. The arrangements in place should have ensured it did not happen.
“If we want tourists to come here, we must ensure that they feel safe and security has to be at the best.
“There should be no excuse. Security has to be improved,” he said adding that in view of the latest kidnapping, it is obvious that security arrangements in Singamata Island, barely five minutes off Semporna was not up to mark.
Nazri’s remarks flayed the defensive stand taken by his cabinet colleagues Shahidan Kassim and Wan Junaidi.
BN MPs castigate Putrajaya
Shahidan told parliament yesterday that Esscom carried out regular patrols on the Sabah seas and that last Wednesday, the Maritime Enforcement Agency personnel had visited the Singamata Reef Resort three hours before the kidnapping incident.
Despite the reality of this being a second incident since Esscom was established, Shahidan argued that Esscom had managed to defend the 1,400km of coastline from Kudat toTawau.
His remarks come on the heel of Sabah opposition and BN MPs who castigated Putrajaya over the lax security arrangements despite RM millions being spent since April last year.
Although Sabah BN MPs, except Kalabakan’s Abdul Ghaful Salleh, were less harsh on Esscom and the federal government, they nonetheless shared equal concern over Sabah’s security and demanded immediate action.
BN backbenchers Wilfred Tangau (BN-Tuaran), Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) and Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said Esscom should not be written off and instead called for the organisation to be given more assets and greater powers.
They also called for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to take direct command of Esscom as he had “all the powers under the Malaysian sky” to give orders.
MPs from both sides also called for the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the illegal migrants in Sabah to be released immediately.
The disclosure of the RCI finding has been postponed so many times since even before the 13th general election last May, they said.
“Now the minister tells me that it could be released in May, but only maybe,” said Sandakan MP Stephen Wong, who moved the motion to debate security lax in Sabah.
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